Prostate Cancer New Top Male Cancer in Britain

Cancer Research UK has confirmed the latest figures from the Prostate Cancer Charity that prostate cancer is now the leading cause of cancer in men in Britain ahead of lung cancer.

Researchers say there are several reasons for this. Firstly, lung cancer rates were falling because fewer men now smoked. Secondly, the ageing population and increasing use of diagnostic tests meant that the number of prostate cancers detected was rising.

The Prostate Cancer Charity is campaigning to raise awareness of the disease and is funding research to develop a more reliable diagnostic test than the existing PSA blood test. Although this test is used for general screening in the US, it is not in the UK. This is because it gives so many false positive results and physicians are unsure how best to treat early disease.

(Source: Reuters Health)